Broken Promise
by theabridgedkuriboh
Summary: "I thought our friendship meant something to you. I thought we were gonna be the best of friends, that we were gonna stay that way for a long time." Gao took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, his tears flowing down his face once more, he didn't bother to stop them this time. "You lied."


Hello all. This is my first Future Card Buddyfight fanfic. Honestly, I don't know where this came from. I guess maybe I'm still upset over episode 15. NOBORU. I'M GONNA MISS YA. *cries* Anyways, this is, well, I don't know. It has a similar plot to episode 15 but with my own twists. I guess...

So yes this fic revolves around Gao and Noboru since they really seemed to grow closer in episode 15 and I'm still crying on the inside so...

Read and review everyone. This took me about a night and a day to write this, so I hope it turns out well. Let me know what you think.

* * *

Snow flurried down from the sky at a quick pace, falling onto the ground, hitting people's faces causing them to hold up an arm to help guide them through it. The wind was a key element in this dastardly weather as people scurried to find shelter.

The bitter cold bites at the skin causing it to burn and the body to shiver. Gao kept his arms wrapped around his body as he sat under one of the many trees near Aibo academy. His body was only covered by his usual black and indigo jacket with the red-yellow sun design undershirt. He also had his torn student hat on his head with the sun ornament.

Yellow eyes looked around at the academy buildings all around him. Red bangs continued to brush against his face as the wind began to pick up. Gao couldn't believe that his predicament had led him to do something like this.

"Man, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut." Gao muttered to himself.

Gao sighed, his breath creating a small white smoke thanks to the extremely cold temperatures. He placed his bare hands over his mouth and breathed into them. Yes. He forgot gloves in his desperate attempt to flee his home.

"This is bunk. I know I should just face him, but I know I'm right." Gao complained to himself.

Before leaving his home and into the blizzard snowfall, Gao Mikado got into an argument with his buddy monster and friend, Drum Bunker Dragon about something petty that could have been solved easily, however, as children are, they always want to be right, so it escalated far past it should have to the point where Gao ran off ended up where he was now. Gao knew he was right. He wasn't going to let Drum off the hook because he was cold.

"Then again, If I don't get back home soon, I'll get sick and mom won't like that." Gao said to himself.

Gao pulled his jacket closer to his body. He knew he was being selfish, but he has always been stubborn, he fights for what he believes him. And he believes he's right. No. He knows he's right.

"Gao? Is that you? What are you doing out here?"

Gao looked up at the source of the voice that was calling out to him. He saw his friend standing before him. Blonde with stripes of black that pointed up in some places and down in others. He was wearing a heavy blue jacket, his usual yellow t-shirt with the tiger in the middle, and black sweatpants and blue boots. Yellow-green eyes stared down at him with a look that said "are you a moron" and Gao knew that he was being unreasonable.

"What does it look like? I'm sitting under this tree." Gao replied.

Noboru rolled his eyes at the idiotic thing he was hearing from Gao. He knew that Gao was being completely unreasonable, Noboru could tell and he didn't even know why he was outside in the first place.

"You know what I mean Gao. Why are you sitting outside, in the snow, like a moron?"

"Who are you calling a moron, kitten shirt?"

"Its a tiger, not a kitten."

"Whatever."

Noboru let a sigh escape his lips. He was done. He didn't even know why he stopped to even talk to Gao.

"Look, I didn't come over here to argue with you." Noboru crouched down in front of the redhead buddy fighter. "Its cold and its getting dark, you need to go back and get warmed up. You're being stupid sitting out here. You're going to get sick and if you get sick, that means no buddy fighting."

Gao puffed up his cheeks and looked around so that he didn't have to look directly at his friend, but he knew that Noboru was right.

Gao took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. "Yeah, you're right." Gao stood up to his feet and held out a hand. "Thanks Noboru. You really saved my butt."

Noboru felt his cheeks heat up because of Gao's stupidly cheeky words. He was never good at this kind of thing.

"Whatever. Just get going. The snow is starting to pick up." Noboru said.

Gao nodded to his friend and then took off, starting with a slow paced walk to a sprint. Noboru watched him go, he felt something inside of him, telling him to not let Gao go off on his own. He clenched his gloved hands tight before running off after the red head. He didn't know why he was so eager to hang around him, but he felt as if he needed to make sure that he got home alright.

"Gao, wait up." Noboru shouted.

Gao stopped in his tracks, he held down his hat and he looked back at the blonde who was running towards him. Noboru stopped a few feet behind Gao before speaking.

"I know this is a weird question, but do you want me to walk home with you?" Noboru asked. Gao stayed completely silent, his breath lingering in the air as white puffs of smoke. Noboru felt his face turning a bit red again. "Look, you've been out here for who knows how long, you're probably getting sick and I just want to make sure that you-!"

"Alright." Gao said as he interrupted Noboru's statement.

Noboru stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at his friend. He took a few deep breaths, trying to catch his breath, the cold air burning his lungs. He felt heavy.

"What did you say?" Noboru asked. He had heard what he said. He just couldn't believe it. Or, he didn't want to believe it.

"I said that you can come with me. But we should get going. My hands feel like they're going numb." Gao responded.

Noboru looked down at his gloved hands before huffing to himself and removing his warm and bundled hands from the gloves and handing them to Gao. "Here, put these on."

Gao looked at the gloves that Noboru was handing to him. "I can't do that. You need them. They're yours."

Noboru grabbed Gao's wrist and placed the gloves in his hand. "Just take them already. I want to get home just as much as you do."

Gao knew that Noboru wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, so he eagerly slipped on the gloves and his hands almost immediately showed signs of relief.

"Thanks Noboru." Gao said.

Noboru hid his face behind his scarf and said nothing else to Gao after that. The two walked in silence as they made their way to Gao's home.

* * *

A knock at the door got Hanako to stop what she doing. She looked over at the doorway, seeing no one around, she got up from off the floor, still wearing her Jujutsu uniform and went to see just who was at the door. She grabbed a stool and stood on her tip toes and looked through the peep hole to see if she could see who it was that was there.

As she looked through, her eyes were immediately drawn to the large spiky blonde hair. She thought back, trying to think if she knew anyone with that hair color.

"Who is it?" Hanako asked through the door. She figured a voice sample would be easier to figure out.

"Hana its me. Open up."

She raised an eyebrow. "Gao? Is that you?" She could have sworn she saw blonde hair.

"Yeah, its me. Open the door. We're freezing out here." Gao replied.

Hanako felt more questions running through her small little mind. "We're" Was the blonde she saw through the peep hole the one Gao is referring to?

Hanako then just shrugged her shoulders, grasped the door knob with her small fingers and quickly and swiftly opened the door and was immediately greeted by her brother who stepped right in and enveloped himself in the warm heat of his home.

"Thank God, we made it." Gao huffed. He fell back onto the floor, a smile on his face.

Hanako looked out the door again. She saw Noboru standing at the door as well. His hands in his pockets. His cheeks flushed from standing out in the cold so long.

"Why are you standing around? Come on in kitten shirt." Hanako said with a smile.

Noboru growled to himself. "Its a tiger, not a kitten."

"I know. Just come on in." Hanako said with a giggle.

Noboru decided not to fight with her this time, and decided to come on inside and accept the invitation.

"So Hana, where's mom at?" Gao asked.

Hanako looked over at her brother. "She's cleaning the dojo. She was going to get you to do it, but you ran off."

Gao grinned to himself. "Well, at least something good came out of this."

Noboru decided to place himself on the couch and sat by himself. He didn't know why he decided to come inside. He knew he should have just asked for his gloves and then left, but for some reason, he felt obliged to come inside.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He checked the time. It was almost seven o clock. It was way past sundown by now. It was as dark as a shadow outside. He knew it would be difficult getting home on his own, but he was sure that he could figure it out with the help of the street lights.

"Gao, you finally made it home. Just where have you been?"

Everyone looked over at the blue haired woman as she walked into the room. She had hands covered in a rag as she wiped off her hands.

Gao raised himself up from off the floor. "I went for a walk."

Suzumi sighed and placed the rag on the table. "Gao. You and Drum havve been having these kinds of petty arguments since you brought him home that first day. You two have grown much closer since then. You should be used to his behavior."

"Well he didn't have to eat my pudding." Gao shouted.

"That's the reason why I found you almost frozen to death." Noboru shouted. Everyone looked over at Noboru as he stood up from the couch in anger. "Gao, you sat in the snow for god knows how long because of a dessert. You're pathetic."

"Hey, don't say things like that about my brother." Hanako shouted back.

"Hanako, calm down." Suzumi ordered. She walked further into the room. "Noboru is right, in a sense."

"Really?" Gao mumbled.

"To get mad about something as petty as a dessert pudding, that was uncanny and pathetic of you Gao. If you had wanted, I could have made another one. You overreacted." Suzumi said, specifically to Gao.

Gao looked around at everyone and then scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you're right." Gao bowed to his family, and Noboru in apology. "I'm sorry."

"You should be sorry."

Gao raised his head as Drum walked into the room. He raised a clawed hand at Gao. "Everyone knows that all food is mine as I so claim. Pestering over one pudding is selfish and diminutive."

Gao rolled his eyes at his buddy monster and then grinned at him. "Whatever you say Drum."

Suzumi smiled at her son before looking over at Noboru. "Noboru, since its late, why don't you stay here for the night. I know its not usually the thing to do on a school night, however, I can make an exception."

Noboru didn't know how to answer that. He knew it would be best to go home and not spend a whole night with Gao because he can muchless stand him during the school day, however, it would be safer for him to stay here.

Noboru took a deep breath and replied, "Sure, whatever."

Gao fist pumped the air above his own head. "This is gonna rock."

Noboru could feel himself beginning to regret his decision already.

* * *

In the later hours of the night, Gao and Noboru sat around the fire, hot chocolate in hand. Gao had a wet rag over his head. His nose was red and he was coughing quite a bit. He had gotten sick, just as Noboru predicted. Well, Noboru didn't predict himself being in the same predicament.

"This is all your fault Gao. If you hadn't gone out there and sat in the snow, I wouldn't have found you and we wouldn't be sick." Noboru complained.

"Hey, don't blame it all on me. You didn't have to find me you know." Gao shot back.

The two stayed silent after that. Gao took another sip of his hot chocolate. Noboru looked out the window of the home, he was worried about what his parents would say to him when they found out he had gotten sick and has to miss school.

"Look Noboru," Noboru looked over at Gao who kept his head down as he gazed into his hot beverage. "I'm glad that you found me back there. Without your help, I may have stayed there so long that I got hypothermia and trust me, that doesn't sound fun." Gao scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "So, thanks I guess."

Noboru stared at Gao for a moment, as if judging him with his eyes before sighing. "Well, I guess that's' the best apology I'll be getting out of you, so I accept your praise and gratitude."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gao complained.

"Just as I said." Noboru replied.

Noboru took another sip of his cocoa.

Silence.

"Hey Noboru," "What?" "Hey, just hear me out." Noboru sat silently as Gao readied himself to speak. "Listen, we've known each other for a long time now, we used to be great friends back when I first transferred here to Aibo academy. I want that friendship back man. We used to be great friends."

"Look Gao, I know you used to have trouble making friends, but to me, you were more of a pity case. We needed an even number of people on each team and you were around at the right time. We became friends on a coincidence and an accident."

Gao lowered his head.

"However," Noboru brought his cocoa up to his lips. "That doesn't mean I don't regret becoming friends with you. Even if was for that short a time."

"So, are you saying that you might want to start hanging out again?" Gao asked.

Noboru grinned. "Maybe." He grabbed his pillow and tossed it over at Gao with enough strength to knock over the red head. "If you're lucky enough, that is."

"Not cool man." Gao mumbled from behind the pillow. Noboru may not be able to see it, but Gao was smiling behind that fluffy pillow. A bright happy smile.

* * *

Its been a year since then. All four season have come and go and winter has once again set itself to flurry down its white substance. Gao stood by himself, his bag over his shoulder, his scarf fluttering in the breeze behind him, gloved hands clenched around the strap of his school bag.

He was angry.

His jaw was clamped shut, his teeth grinding together as he stared down at the snow piling up at his feet. He glared at the snow below.

How could he? After finally re-bonding after so long, he goes and does that? Did their new friendship mean nothing to him?

Gao had learned the news from his little sister, who ended up running into Noboru's parents during the school day yesterday. She had told him, that Noboru and his parents were moving out of the country.

The fact that Noboru was moving hurt Gao greatly, but the main fact angered him. The fact that Noboru kept it secret, that he was going to go off and not even let him say goodbye to him. That was the part that upset Gao the most.

Tears streamed down the face of the young buddyfighter. He just stood alone in the yard of Aibo academy, students aimlessly walking by him, not paying him any mind. He was grateful. He didn't want any of his friends to see him like this.

"Why did you do it Noboru?" Gao said to himself. He wiped his tears away. "Why did you leave me hanging without letting me say goodbye man?"

Gao kicked the snow at his feet. He felt so angry. He felt betrayed. He was upset. He felt like something was missing. Someone.

"I thought our friendship meant something to you. I thought we were gonna be the best of friends, that we were gonna stay that way for a long time." Gao took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair roughly, his tears flowing down his face once more, he didn't bother to stop them this time. "You lied."

* * *

Annnnnnd now I'm crying again T^T

Tell me you thought guys. And if anyone is confused, no I LOVE Noboru, this was not a swing at him for leaving, this was just me being sad and shit.

Review everyone.


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